Raoul Bustillo

Before becoming a partner at Koles, Burke & Bustillo, LLP, Raoul was an Assistant Prosecutor in Hudson County. He prosecuted assaults, sexual assaults, drug offenses, robberies, weapon charges and homicides. His clients benefit from his trial experience, familiarity with police and grand jury investigations and knowledge of constitutional rights.

Personal Injury – Construction Accidents – Asbestos Exposure – Worker’s Compensation – Civil Rights – Criminal Defense

Results:

Mr. Bustillo obtained a $1.5 million settlement for an elderly man battling a life threatening illness, who had been abandoned by his wealthy son after a bitter family feud. Plaintiff, who had no independent means of support, was facing eviction from his home. After reviewing some financial documents, Mr. Bustillo found that Plaintiff’s son had signed a document stating that a portion of his money belonged to his father. Recognizing that the son had executed a “deed of gift,” Mr. Bustillo filed an emergency petition with the court and convinced the court to order the son to support the father financially pending the outcome of the litigation. Thanks to the emergency relief obtained from the court, the father was able to move back into his apartment and assert his rights to a portion of the money. After a court battle that latest almost two years, the father walked away with just over $1.5 million in time payments.

Recently, Mr. Bustillo obtained lifetime worker’s compensation disability benefits for a truck driver who had injured himself on the job. The truck driver was loading a pickup truck on top of a vehicle transport rig when his foot slipped off the brake, causing the pickup truck to fall off of the rig with the driver inside. The driver fractured two vertebrae and underwent three back surgeries. Due to the driver’s age, 42 at the time, the worker’s compensation insurance carrier resisted paying full disability benefits, arguing that the driver could be retrained. By obtaining expert reports from numerous doctors and vocational specialists, Mr. Bustillo was able to demonstrate that the truck driver would not be able to work again. As a result, the driver has been receiving benefits starting at 300 per week and increasing to $629. per week for the rest of his life.